Shari Lynne: So, I went back to MI this past week to volunteer with Michigan Disability Rights Coalition (MDRC) in a leadership program they have. If you don't know what MDRC is, just trust me when I say, it's the most awesome disability rights organization in all of MI! Anyway, I got to spend a few more days with my dad after that, which was not particularly exciting, but it was good. I haven't seen him or anyone connected with him since our engagement, so it was fun to show off my ring and gossip about other stuff. My dad failed to mention until driving me back to the house that my "step-"brother, James and his wife, Twilia are expecting their first child. So, I was annoyed enough (because I tend to be the last to learn anything regarding family news) to smack him in the arm a couple times for not telling me after he found out. So, yay, I'm gonna be an aunt, and I don't have to be the first to make my daddy a grandpa! For the record, James never knew we were engaged until he saw me this weekend because well, communication sucks in our family, I guess, and he and Twilia do not have a facebook account. Related to this not-knowing-what-the-heck-is-going-on-unless-it's-announced-on-facebook problem, I had no idea that my dad and step-mom are already saving money to help us have a real wedding. YAY! This means, we don't have to go to city hall and elope, though my dad would prefer that. We get to have the most awesome wedding of the year...at a reasonable price! Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Now that we don't have to rely on ONLY our pathetic incomes to have a wedding, we can finally start planning something. So, we started putting a guest list and music list together. Once we figure out how many people we want there, we can find a place to have a ceremony/reception. One thing I can tell you is that it is not going to be your average wedding ceremony. It will definitely be very personalized to who we are as a couple. Not religious but definitely spiritual in nature.
Sean: I'm agnostic and I don't have any set idea of how it's going to go or how it needs to go. I do know that it won't be your average wedding in the sense that, it will be just two set sides, the brides side and the groom's side, as we have so many friends in common. We will have many crips there, family, extended family, hopefully many ADAPTers. Right now, we're making a list of who we want there, and it's annoying trying to figure out how many people we can have there.
Don't get us wrong, we are still going to try to save what we can, contribute what we can, but we are definitely grateful to have some of the weight lifted off of us and have some resources out there.
Sean: I'm still working on my thesis and we're both still trying to find a job.
Shari Lynne: It's a cut-throat world out there in the job-search frontier. I am a few credits short of a BA (and I WILL go back as soon as Sean finishes his Master's), but I have all this work/volunteer experience. Sean has a BA but not the kind of experience that I do. We wish there was a way we could splice each other together and then clone it so that at least one of us could get a job! Oh, well...
Sean: On the wedding plans again, last night, I had to pry Shari Lynne away from the computer because she was starting to stress out way too much over the guest list, of all things. I told her that it didn't need to be done in one day, we have plenty of time. Besides, we know who we definitely DO and definitely DO NOT want there. The point is, we've started somewhere. Shari Lynne's computer's still messed up, so it's not so easy for us to go through her iTunes list right now, so last night, we went through mine--
Shari Lynne: --which isn't particularly diverse...
Sean: Oh, come on, don't be that harsh!
I guess we're having the biggest problem finding a song I can dance with my mom to, albeit briefly. We need to get her opinion on it, of course. Perhaps she has an idea what she'd like to dance to at the wedding. Right now, I have "Time After Time," the Eva Cassidy version in mind. It's a beautiful song, the cover of it, I love it. I like the original (Cyndi Lauper), but the Eva Cassidy version is so good. It's a damn good song!
Shari Lynne: I figured out ages ago, my dad and I have to dance to "What a Wonderful World" by Sam Cook. It's one of the songs I first heard while watching the movie, "Witness" with my dad and then a few times listening to Oldies on 104.3 FM (Detroit) while on road trips (with Dad driving, of course). Besides, if you know me, and you listen to the words, it totally applies.
Sean: I played a couple of songs to get a laugh out of her. I told her to imagine walking down the aisle to Parliament's "She's a Bad Mamma Jamma" while I walk down the aisle to Afroman's "Because I Got High." Hehehe. How unique would that be?
Shari Lynne: I can just see my dad shaking his head and wishing he could hide if he heard the Afroman song. I'm starting to reconsider the Bad Mamma Jamma-thing just because he's got me listening to it now, and it would definitely be more fun than some of the more somber possibilities. Right now, I'm pretty sure I'll walk down the aisle to "In the Morning Light" by Yanni...Yes, Yanni... it's really pretty! Sorry, Denita, I totally stole your idea, but you can share, right?!
Sean: We have some totally awesome ideas for a theme, but that is under wraps for now. It's between us and our unofficial wedding planner. We're really excited about it, though.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Our Blonde Friend
Shari Lynne: As mentioned in the previous post, Sean tends to be more vocal about getting people to move out of the wheelchair-accessible spaces on the CTA buses. I tend to only speak up as loud as he does "when provoked." One such occasion became possible not too long ago, when we were returning home one afternoon.
We had already waited, unjustifiably, for 45 minutes for the 147 (express to downtown) to pick us up at home. When it finally showed up, an EMPTY one passed by all of us without even braking. Next, a full one was right behind him and couldn't let us on. Of course, that driver said, "The bus is full. Don't look at me like I'M the problem."...implying a couple of things, one: that we are a problem (when all we want to do is get from point A to point B.) and that he's not willing to take control of his bus. Even a driver waiting to change shifts was pissed that it not only took so long but that the first jerk passed everyone. Still, we managed to get on a third bus behind the full one and finally getting on our way. We were trying to get to an appointment at the Apple store because the screen on my computer is busted. I was 15 minutes late thanks to the screwy CTA crap. (BTW, it's going to cost $396.74 to fix it, but I will eventually, because I love my Mac!) This was only the beginning.
Sean: On the way back, we ended up getting on the 146, when it pulled up, we had to go out in the street in order to get on the bus, and one jerky passenger couldn't wait and nearly barreled a woman over trying to get on the bus. I had difficulty getting up the ramp (it's VERY steep and dangerous to try to get up the ramp with no curb underneath it) in Shari Lynne's manual chair I've been borrowing. After I got on, the bus driver had to yell to the standing passengers, a couple of times, to move back so we could fit into the spaces. She also said that the bus would not budge until we were both "secure" in the wheelchair-accessible spaces.
Shari Lynne: The jerky passenger who jumped on ahead proceeded to yell at us instead of yell at the people surrounding him to get them to move back. It was an "extendo-bus," as we call it, meaning the bus has an extra cab to accommodate more passengers.
Sean: I had reiterated essentially what the bus driver had said, that the bus wasn't going to budge until we're secure, and it doesn't matter to me if we wait. Finally, people did move back BUT a blonde lady, who was sitting the entire time, decided to be argumentative, I guess, and she said, "I bet it doesn't [bother you]!" I had said, "Well, when you need to be assertive, and people with disabilities especially have to." She responded by saying, "You don't need to be that assertive."
Shari Lynne: This is when I felt provoked! I turned to her with one of my famous looks that said, how dare you! I said to her, "There are only TWO spaces on any given bus in the COUNTRY for people with disabilities to use. If we don't speak up, we're stuck!"
Sean: That's when I jumped in with, "So CRAM IT!" The lady responded, less confidently this time, with, "unbelievable." The passengers near her seemed mortified, and we think more with her audacity.
Shari Lynne: Sean's been urging me to be more assertive and vocal, but it was not as necessary for me until that woman said this. She had no idea what she was talking about. She also was carrying a Coach bag, an iPhone, and looked like she was at least trying to dress fashionably. If she had said one more thing, I would have recommended that she get off the bus and get a taxi. See? We can't even ride in an accessible taxi together (if both of us are using chairs) because they are only big enough to fit one chair at a time!
We didn't have any awkward exchanges since then, other than a few glances on my part. I had this feeling that she was going to end up getting off at our stop after a few where she didn't get move. Sure enough, we live in the same neighborhood. Luckily, we don't live in the same building.
Sean: I wanted to antagonize her more when we were getting off the bus, but Shari Lynne reminded me that would just be passive-aggressive, and it wouldn't change anything. However, it was entertaining, and therapeutic, for both of us to joke about it on our way to the apartment.
Shari Lynne: This is why we call her our Blonde Friend, because it's ironic. She had an opportunity to be empathetic, but she chose otherwise. We hope to never really run into her again, but figure it's possible.
We had already waited, unjustifiably, for 45 minutes for the 147 (express to downtown) to pick us up at home. When it finally showed up, an EMPTY one passed by all of us without even braking. Next, a full one was right behind him and couldn't let us on. Of course, that driver said, "The bus is full. Don't look at me like I'M the problem."...implying a couple of things, one: that we are a problem (when all we want to do is get from point A to point B.) and that he's not willing to take control of his bus. Even a driver waiting to change shifts was pissed that it not only took so long but that the first jerk passed everyone. Still, we managed to get on a third bus behind the full one and finally getting on our way. We were trying to get to an appointment at the Apple store because the screen on my computer is busted. I was 15 minutes late thanks to the screwy CTA crap. (BTW, it's going to cost $396.74 to fix it, but I will eventually, because I love my Mac!) This was only the beginning.
Sean: On the way back, we ended up getting on the 146, when it pulled up, we had to go out in the street in order to get on the bus, and one jerky passenger couldn't wait and nearly barreled a woman over trying to get on the bus. I had difficulty getting up the ramp (it's VERY steep and dangerous to try to get up the ramp with no curb underneath it) in Shari Lynne's manual chair I've been borrowing. After I got on, the bus driver had to yell to the standing passengers, a couple of times, to move back so we could fit into the spaces. She also said that the bus would not budge until we were both "secure" in the wheelchair-accessible spaces.
Shari Lynne: The jerky passenger who jumped on ahead proceeded to yell at us instead of yell at the people surrounding him to get them to move back. It was an "extendo-bus," as we call it, meaning the bus has an extra cab to accommodate more passengers.
Sean: I had reiterated essentially what the bus driver had said, that the bus wasn't going to budge until we're secure, and it doesn't matter to me if we wait. Finally, people did move back BUT a blonde lady, who was sitting the entire time, decided to be argumentative, I guess, and she said, "I bet it doesn't [bother you]!" I had said, "Well, when you need to be assertive, and people with disabilities especially have to." She responded by saying, "You don't need to be that assertive."
Shari Lynne: This is when I felt provoked! I turned to her with one of my famous looks that said, how dare you! I said to her, "There are only TWO spaces on any given bus in the COUNTRY for people with disabilities to use. If we don't speak up, we're stuck!"
Sean: That's when I jumped in with, "So CRAM IT!" The lady responded, less confidently this time, with, "unbelievable." The passengers near her seemed mortified, and we think more with her audacity.
Shari Lynne: Sean's been urging me to be more assertive and vocal, but it was not as necessary for me until that woman said this. She had no idea what she was talking about. She also was carrying a Coach bag, an iPhone, and looked like she was at least trying to dress fashionably. If she had said one more thing, I would have recommended that she get off the bus and get a taxi. See? We can't even ride in an accessible taxi together (if both of us are using chairs) because they are only big enough to fit one chair at a time!
We didn't have any awkward exchanges since then, other than a few glances on my part. I had this feeling that she was going to end up getting off at our stop after a few where she didn't get move. Sure enough, we live in the same neighborhood. Luckily, we don't live in the same building.
Sean: I wanted to antagonize her more when we were getting off the bus, but Shari Lynne reminded me that would just be passive-aggressive, and it wouldn't change anything. However, it was entertaining, and therapeutic, for both of us to joke about it on our way to the apartment.
Shari Lynne: This is why we call her our Blonde Friend, because it's ironic. She had an opportunity to be empathetic, but she chose otherwise. We hope to never really run into her again, but figure it's possible.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Welcome to Cracks in the Pavement!
Shari Lynne: I moved to Chicago on June 28, 2010. Why? Well, the cheesy, cliche reason of following a boy. Sean has always lived in Illinois, and I needed the mass transit that Chicago provides, so it was the logical choice.
Sean: I remember Shari Lynne was one of the first ADAPT members I saw when I got off the plane in Atlanta, before we got our luggage. She was cute, pretty, and very amiable. She was engaging. She was militant and ready for action. It was both of our first National Action with ADAPT ( www.adapt.org ). We went on the same train, to head to the Omni Hotel (connected by skywalk to the CNN headquarters) in Atlanta. After dropping off our luggage, we met up at the CNN food court...well, we were all meeting up at the food court... I thought more of us were all going to have drinks after getting there, but only Shari Lynne and I decided to have drinks, and she became my "drinking buddy." We went to Dantana's Grill & Bar...We started talking as we were there: talking shop, disability stuff, disability pride, why we were there, why we FIGHT...The next morning, we met up again at Orientation, and we shared a table.
Shari Lynne: While waiting for orientation to begin, I got hit on and asked out by a hasty, overzealous ADAPTer. I was quite flustered but was friendly and tried to let him down gently. Meanwhile, I was kind of hoping Sean would get the guts to ask me out.
Sean: We gravitated to each other, we seemed to naturally click, but I thought she was seeing somebody because she had this ring on her right hand, which I found out later was an heirloom from her late, beloved grandmother. After a couple more days, and through the encouragement of our mutual friend, JoJo Cross, I worked up the nerve to ask her out.
Shari Lynne: He never directly asked me out. He came up with this paragraph long diatribe that basically boiled down to the words he never said, Will you go out with me? Of course, I was trying to get him to say these simple six words, so I carried it on a little longer saying a couple of times, "What do you mean?" Eventually, I just gave up and said, "That would be good."
Sean: I can be so audacious, direct, forthright on anything else, but I could not find the words to ask her out. I was sweet on her.
Shari Lynne: This is true. I usually cower a little bit, unless provoked by ableist by-standers, when he is being assertive to the point of obnoxious while trying to use the accessible spaces on the CTA buses. In the interest of context, it is necessary to disclose that I have Cerebral Palsy and use a wheelchair to go long distances, while Sean is an amputee, and uses a chair when we are out and about to keep up with me. This requires that we frequently take up the accessible seats on the buses. There are only two spaces on any given bus in the country so it can create problems on occasion, but mostly it just adds to our adventures.
We officially became a couple on 10/13/09 ...which involved a long-distance relationship with Sean in Chicago and I in Grand Rapids, MI ...and we became engaged ...rather randomly...on 7/17/10.
This blog is the compilation of our adventures as an engaged couple who both happen to have disabilities. The experiences of living together, commuting together, learning together, and trying to figure out how the hell we're going to manage to have the wedding we would like without the means to save a dime.
Look back soon as we will delve into more interesting details soon!
Sean: I remember Shari Lynne was one of the first ADAPT members I saw when I got off the plane in Atlanta, before we got our luggage. She was cute, pretty, and very amiable. She was engaging. She was militant and ready for action. It was both of our first National Action with ADAPT ( www.adapt.org ). We went on the same train, to head to the Omni Hotel (connected by skywalk to the CNN headquarters) in Atlanta. After dropping off our luggage, we met up at the CNN food court...well, we were all meeting up at the food court... I thought more of us were all going to have drinks after getting there, but only Shari Lynne and I decided to have drinks, and she became my "drinking buddy." We went to Dantana's Grill & Bar...We started talking as we were there: talking shop, disability stuff, disability pride, why we were there, why we FIGHT...The next morning, we met up again at Orientation, and we shared a table.
Shari Lynne: While waiting for orientation to begin, I got hit on and asked out by a hasty, overzealous ADAPTer. I was quite flustered but was friendly and tried to let him down gently. Meanwhile, I was kind of hoping Sean would get the guts to ask me out.
Sean: We gravitated to each other, we seemed to naturally click, but I thought she was seeing somebody because she had this ring on her right hand, which I found out later was an heirloom from her late, beloved grandmother. After a couple more days, and through the encouragement of our mutual friend, JoJo Cross, I worked up the nerve to ask her out.
Shari Lynne: He never directly asked me out. He came up with this paragraph long diatribe that basically boiled down to the words he never said, Will you go out with me? Of course, I was trying to get him to say these simple six words, so I carried it on a little longer saying a couple of times, "What do you mean?" Eventually, I just gave up and said, "That would be good."
Sean: I can be so audacious, direct, forthright on anything else, but I could not find the words to ask her out. I was sweet on her.
Shari Lynne: This is true. I usually cower a little bit, unless provoked by ableist by-standers, when he is being assertive to the point of obnoxious while trying to use the accessible spaces on the CTA buses. In the interest of context, it is necessary to disclose that I have Cerebral Palsy and use a wheelchair to go long distances, while Sean is an amputee, and uses a chair when we are out and about to keep up with me. This requires that we frequently take up the accessible seats on the buses. There are only two spaces on any given bus in the country so it can create problems on occasion, but mostly it just adds to our adventures.
We officially became a couple on 10/13/09 ...which involved a long-distance relationship with Sean in Chicago and I in Grand Rapids, MI ...and we became engaged ...rather randomly...on 7/17/10.
This blog is the compilation of our adventures as an engaged couple who both happen to have disabilities. The experiences of living together, commuting together, learning together, and trying to figure out how the hell we're going to manage to have the wedding we would like without the means to save a dime.
Look back soon as we will delve into more interesting details soon!
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